Article November 7, 1953 Issue

BE STEADFAST

ARVA M. KNOWLES

A thrilling feature of a vacation tour to Alaska by boat is the short stopover at the Columbia Glacier near Valdez. The boat slowly works its way up to within about a mile of where this moving glacier, probably two hundred feet high, reaches the sea and is constantly breaking off in icebergs of all sizes and fantastic shapes. Upon reaching this point the ship stops and blows its horn at intervals, the vibrations of the sound sometimes causing masses of ice to break off.

When we were there, we saw several small masses fall. However, there was one unusually large cleavage that would have caused tons upon tons of ice to crash into the water if it could have been extended by the sound waves to the breaking point. The boat staved longer than planned; long penetrating and short quick blasts were tried, but nothing seemed to be accomplished. Finally those in charge gave up, and we departed; but just after we turned a bend we heard a tremendous roar, and soon huge icebergs, far bigger than any others that we had seen, were visible in the distance floating away from the area of the glacier. Had we waited for maybe one more blast we might have seen this exciting spectacle!

Sometimes we are tempted to give up just before victory is ours. Yet Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 261), "Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionally to their occupancy of your thoughts."

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